After spending a couple of days in Rome (which you can read all about here), we hopped in a rental car and drove deep into the heart of Tuscany for a blissful few days at Villa Lena. It was my first time in Tuscany as an adult, and it was every bit as good as I remembered it and just as beautiful as everyone’s holiday Instagram posts make it seem.
It was a four hour drive from Rome, and while driving wasn’t our first pick when it came to transportation (a rail strike threw a wrench in our perfectly laid plans), it ended up being just fine. All the credit to Jonah for getting us there in one piece and holding his own against the wicked fast Italian drivers.
We arrived at the beautiful Villa Lena just in time for check-in at 3pm. The property is part agriturismo, part artists’ residence, set on 500 hectares of land overlooking the Tuscan hills. They grow olives and grapes for their house-made olive oil and wine, along with other produce that is served at the restaurant, Osteria Michele. There are also artists who live on-site whilst completing their residencies, and they happen to host workshops for hotel guests to attend; while we were visiting there were fabric dying and flower arranging workshops on the calendar.
Our first afternoon was spent settling into the room and lounging next to the pool, which had the most incredible vista over the hilly landscape, before a much-awaited 8pm dinner reservation. We started with a distinctly Italian take on a Niçoise salad, with tuna, sardines, egg, potato, string beans, and cherry tomatoes from the garden. We ordered two pastas to share: a tagliatelle with wild boar ragù and a classic carbonara (as if we hadn’t had enough in Rome). To finish, we ordered a pavlova which was covered in a berry compote. It was a fantastic meal to end off our first day, and I genuinely don’t think we had a less than delicious bite at the restaurant during our entire stay.
We had a bit of an early night that evening, followed by a slow and lazy morning before popping by the breakfast buffet, also served in the restaurant. We spent the better part of the day lounging by the pool, and after an intense couple of days in Rome, having a day to just chill with zero agenda was very much needed. We read, we had a couple of drinks from the pool bar, we enjoyed the view, we napped. A pretty much perfect day in my books!
For our final day in Tuscany, we hit the road early for a day trip to Florence. We found a tram stop outside of the core with a parking lot next to it, which saved us from having to drive into the centre and dropped us off right outside Santa Maria Novella station in 20 minutes. It genuinely could not have been more convenient. We made it to Florence before 9am, which I would recommend wholeheartedly if you only have a day to spend in the city. It was such a joy to see the city before the tour groups arrived and the weather warmed up.
Our first stop was Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, one of the world’s oldest pharmacies founded in the 1200’s. Even if you have no interest in fragrance, the store is worth a visit simply for its sheer beauty and history, with frescoes from the 1300’s adorning the walls. It genuinely felt like being in a museum with some really beautiful fragrances and grooming products dotting the space. I ended up leaving with a bottle of Angeli di Firenze, a beautiful, light fragrance with notes of peach, jasmine, and vanilla. It was my only purchase of the trip and it feels like an exceptionally special souvenir.
We spent the remaining hours wandering the streets, stopping for lunch at all’Antico Vinaio (it was fine, there were many sandwich shops around so there’s no need to wait in line here), and seeing the sights. Since our trip was planned so last minute, and Florence wasn’t even on our itinerary until a few days beforehand, we didn’t buy advance tickets for the Uffizi or Accademia, but we did get to see everything that was publicly accessible, from the Duomo, to Ponte Vecchio, to Piazza della Signoria. By 4:00, we had tired ourselves out from all of the walking and hit the road back home.
Our final night was spent enjoying the sunset from the private viewpoint on the Villa Lena property, before cleaning up for one final dinner under the twinkle lights. A truly magical way to end a few days under the Tuscan sun.
